27 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1996 Mercury Mystique cite power train, 14% of all 190 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“THE FORWARD GEARS ON MY TRANSMISSION HAVE CEASED TO WORK. NOW I'M BEING TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I FIND IT KIND OF WEIRD THAT A 96 NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION ALREADY. *TR”
“I PURCHASED MY MERCURY MYSTIQUE NEW IN NOVEMBER OF 1996. I HAVE ALWAYS DRIVEN THE CAR VERY EASY, I DON'T EVEN GET ON THE EXPRESSWAY VERY OFTEN. AT AROUND 45,000 MILES, I HAD THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED, WHICH THE OWNERS MANUAL DOESN'T EVEN MENTION. NOW, WITH ONLY 55K MILES, THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED AND NEEDS A TOTAL REBUILD! ALTHOUGH THE CAR IS NEARLY 9 YEARS OLD, AT 55,000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION FAILING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THERE HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF FLAW IN THE DESIGN FOR IT TO DO THIS. *B”
“THE FLOOR SHIFT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL BECAME DAMAGED IN RESULT OF GEAR POSITION INDICATOR DETERIORATE AND NOT INDICATE THE ACTUAL GEAR POSITION. CONSUMER VIN NUMBER DOSE NOT COMPLY TO RECALL. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. TS”
“WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY, TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO SHIFT AT ODD TIMES. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE SHIFTS BEGAN TO TAKE EXCESSIVELY LONG BETWEEN GEAR ENGAGEMENT. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE O/D OFF LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH ON THE DASH AND THE TRANSMISSION REFUSED TO ENGAGE GEARS. DRIVER STRANDED. UPON INSPECTION AT DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD TRANSMISSION WAS "TOTALLED" AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. DETAILS SKETCHY, BUT TECHNICIAN REPORTED THAT AN INTERNAL FAILURE OCCURED AND TRANSMISSION LUBRICATION WAS AFFECTED (STOPPED). GEARS BEGAN RUNNING METAL ON METAL WITH NO WARNING AND "INTERNAL DAMAGE" OCCURED. CAR WAS DRIVEN LESS THAN 12 MILES AFTER WARNING LIGHT ON DASH BEGAN TO FLASH. THIS CAR HAS ONLY 63K MILES AND THE TRANSMISSION IS TOTALLED BY LACK OF LUBRICATION WITH A FULL RESERVOIR OR FORD FLUID.*AK”
“THE GEAR DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY. FROM STOP TO LOW SPEED (<20MPH) IT WHINES, JERKS AND STALLS. AT HIGH SPEED (40MPH) IT STOPS SHIFTING AND KEEPS WHINING AT 3-4000RPM WHILE IT SHOULD SHIFT UP. THE O/D OFF WARNING LIGHT COMES UP 2-3 MINUTES AFTER STARTING THE CAR. *AK”
“I DON'T HAVE AN ESTIMATE ON TRANSMISSION DAMAGE. TRANSMISSION WAS IN GOOD CONDITION WENT IT WAS BROUGHT TO DEALER, IT IS NOW INOPERABLE. I AM LOOKING INTO POSSIBLE TAMPERING WITH THE VEHICLE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF PAYING FOR THIS DAMAGE. *AK”
Showing 6 of 27 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE FLOOR SHIFT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL CAN BE DAMAGED IF SUBJECTED TO CERTAIN INTERIOR CLEANING PRODUCTS. THE GEAR POSITION INDICATOR CAN DETERIORATE AND NOT CORRECTLY INDICATE THE ACTUAL GEAR POSITION.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.